Phi Theta Kappa

Phi Theta Kappa is the International Honor Society for two year colleges. The Chester Campus of John Tyler Community College is the home of the Tau Rho Chapter. The Midlothian Campus is the home of the Beta Omicron Omicron Chapter.

Below are some frequently asked questions about Phi Theta Kappa. You can also find chapter-specific information on the Tau Rho and Beta Omicron Omicron web sites.

What is Phi Theta Kappa, ΦΘΚ?
Phi Theta Kappa is an internationally recognized honor society serving colleges that offer associate degree programs. It is the largest higher education honor society in America with more than 1.3 million members and 1,200 chapters in the 50 United States and U.S. territories, as well as Canada, Germany, and Japan. It is the official honor society recognized by John Tyler Community College and the Virginia Community College System.

For the history of Phi Theta Kappa as a national honor society, click here.

What is the purpose of Phi Theta Kappa?
The purpose of Phi Theta Kappa is to recognize and encourage scholarship among community college students. All Phi Theta Kappa activities are centered on the society's four hallmarks: scholarship, leadership, service and fellowship.

At John Tyler, we seek to:

recognize and encourage the academic achievement of our students, and

provide opportunities for individual growth and development through participation in honors, leadership, service and fellowship programming.

What does Phi Theta Kappa do?
Phi Theta Kappa Members engage in a wide variety of activities and projects to benefit our world, country, local community and John Tyler Community College. Past projects sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa members include blood drives, book drives for Africa, canned food and Thanksgiving meal drives to benefit the families of John Tyler students, care packages for U.S troops stationed overseas, local river clean-ups, Relay for Life (to raise money for Breast Cancer research), Angel Tree, and many more. If you have a passion for helping others, PTK can provide the supportive environment you need to put your ideas into action!

Members also have the option of attending regional and national Phi Theta Kappa conventions to learn what other chapters are doing, showcase their work and compete for awards, and network with fellow Phi Theta Kappa members.

What are the requirements to join Phi Theta Kappa?
Membership is open to all John Tyler students enrolled in associate degree program who have completed at least 24 hours of coursework at John Tyler and have satisfied the following criteria:

Students who have completed 24-45 semester credits must be enrolled full-time or part-time and have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.75.

Students who have completed more than 45 semester credits must be enrolled full-time or part-time and have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5. (Transfer students may use a maximum of 12 transfer credits to establish total semester credit eligibility for membership.)

All students seeking membership must adhere to the institution’s student conduct code and exhibit a commitment to honor and civility.

New member requirements for the Tau Rho and Beta Omicron Omicron chapters are identical.

How do I join Phi Theta Kappa?
Each fall and spring semester, students who meet the minimum requirements for membership will be extended invitations to join Phi Theta Kappa. These invitations will be sent out by U.S. mail in September and February. You will be asked to attend an information session at which the chapter advisers and officers will give a short presentation on the advantages of joining Phi Theta Kappa.

If you believe that you have met the requirements for membership and have not received an invitation to join, please contact one the chapter advisers. (Note: Need to find way to give students this information)

What are the official bylaws of each chapter?
The following bylaws outline the sturucture and operation of Phi Theta Kappa at John Tyler Community College.